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he weighed nothing at all, and impaled him on our picket fence. The simp female (the one we’d believed was Mamma Sophie’s niece) picked the bat up off the parkway, and marched straight through my front door as if she lived there.  I could hear my mother screaming for help and then her voice just simply stopped. I covered my mouth with both hands to keep from revealing myself.  The things I saw that day are forever etched in my memories. I can still see the pools of blood and the bodies scattered in various displays of horror, whenever I try to sleep.  Manicured front lawns littered with the bodies of little children like abandoned toys. I can still hear the flies buzzing, and the screams of every person I ever knew and loved.  Something died in me that day.  My compassion, my hope, and my willingness to allow anyone that close to my heart again.
    With no other alternative, I ran back to Mamma Sophie’s and hid in the basement until night fell and the awful screaming stopped.  I don’t know how much time passed, but it felt like a lifetime before I climbed those stairs and walked away from the only life I had ever known.  I took nothing with me besides the clothes on my back.  There was no way I was going to allow myself to venture inside my childhood home.  I didn’t want to see my mother looking like Mamma Sophie, and I definitely didn’t want to walk past my father’s body hanging over the damn fence.  I kept my eyes on the asphalt and never looked back.
    I tucked the frozen package of chicken under my arm and punched in the code to the basement.  I was vaguely aware of the fact that I had no place to store the food — or cook it for that matter — but I didn’t really care about that.  I just needed to be away from all them.  Jacob, Barbara, and Giz were all too close to my comfort zone and I just needed some time alone.  I slammed the items I’d taken from the freezer along with my backpack on the counter and flopped down on my bed.  My brain was buzzing with memories, and I just wanted to escape.  My natural instincts battled with my rationality, and for the first time in a long time I struggled with my own sense of humanity.
    A part of me wanted to run, but another part of me knew that this little group would not survive if the simps came for them.  They just weren’t prepared to handle that.  I put my arm over my eyes and exhaled loudly.  I wanted to believe that Giz had some solution with his nerdy friend Fish.  I wanted to have hope.  In addition, I really liked the concept of hot showers, food, and a soft bed.  I was exhausted, and after two years of running, I needed a break.  I decided to give it a week and if it got too intense, I’d flee.  I just had to keep my guard up and not allow my emotions to connect with any of these people.
    I guess I fell asleep because the next thing I knew Giz was gently shaking my shoulder.  “Hailey, wake up,” He said.
    I sat up abruptly, “What is it?” I said, automatically searching for my slingshot.  Panic struck as I realized it wasn’t in my pocket. 
    “Relax, everything’s okay.  It’s food,” he said laughing.  “Man, you really need to take it easy.  I told you, no simps get in here.”  He was still laughing to himself as he turned to grab a hospital tray laden with baked chicken, green beans, and a small bowl of peaches.  I sat up and accepted the tray from him.
    “Thanks,” I said.
    “No sweat.  You’ve been out for four hours and I figured you’d want this.”
    I tore a chunk of the chicken with my fingers and shoveled it in my mouth.  “Did you make this?”  I asked, my mouth still full.
    “No.  Barbara did.  She brought it down to the cafeteria where I was working, and said she’d made it for us.  I already ate mine.”
    “It’s so good,” I said closing my eyes and chewing a bite slowly.”
    “I know, right?  I haven’t had a meal that good in a long time.  I’m so stuffed,” he said